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House suspends joint rule 12 to refer petitions, including automated curb enforcement measure, to committees
Summary
The House suspended Joint Rule 12 to refer multiple petitions from the Senate and a petition by Representative Mark J. Cusack on automated curb enforcement to relevant committees, including Transportation and Public Service.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives, acting on reports from the Committee on Rules, suspended Joint Rule 12 and referred several petitions to standing committees, including a petition to authorize automated curb enforcement to the Committee on Transportation.
Why it matters: Suspending Joint Rule 12 allows the House to consider and refer petitions from the Senate or members without waiting for the usual timeline; the referrals route measures into committee consideration that could lead to hearings or further action.
The House received petitions from the Senate endorsed and referred under suspension of Joint Rule 12, including a petition filed by Senator Nick Collins and Senator Russell E. Holmes seeking legislation to direct the Department of State Police to waive the maximum age requirement for Jonathan Lewis. Another petition, from Senator Patrick M. O'Connor, sought legislation establishing a sick leave bank for Irene O'Rourke, an employee of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services; both were referred to the Committee on Public Service after the House concurred.
Separately, the Committees on Rules of both branches, acting concurrently, recommended suspending Joint Rule 12 on the petition of Representative Mark J. Cusack to authorize automated curb enforcement and improve parking violation procedures; the measure was referred to the Committee on Transportation following suspension of the rule and a voice vote adopting the suspension.
The transcript records those procedural referrals and voice votes but contains no recorded roll-call tallies, nor does it include committee responses or hearings. The referrals place the named petitions into the standard committee process for consideration.
